Editor’s blog

  • ForeThought: Business as unusual

    March 1, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, healthcare and social assistance topped industry growth charts in 2009, with second-quarter revenues of $452.5 billion, up 3 percent from the previous quarter. Read more…

  • Miss Management: Bumper crops and geosynthetics

    February 22, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    After more than three weeks of having to remove my teeth from the roof of my car after any commute to or from the workplace, I resolved to look into Minnesota’s perennial pothole problem from a professional standpoint. Read more…

  • Miss Management: Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that nobody’s out to get you

    February 11, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    If you watched President Obama’s State of the Union address a few weeks back, you’ve no doubt noted that job creation is now at the forefront of the recession-busting strategies being formulated by government. A rational national healthcare industry is still being fought out in Washington, and if this proposed two-party summit actually takes place (and what I would not give to be physically present for that meeting, as a partyless but exceptionally pithy citizen), it may still bob to the surface again and create some actual change in what has become an unsustainable system. But a focus on job creation (or perhaps just job retention) is probably top of everyone’s mind today, for both management and employees. Read more…

  • ForeThought: Demand and supply

    February 2, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    In February, many of you will be receiving an e-mail about the 2010 Review Buyer’s Guide. Because we’re making some changes this year, I’m going to put my journalistic training to hard use here and answer all your questions in advance. Read more…

  • Miss Management: The days of wine and hoses

    January 18, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    All the business advice these days is all about how consumer attitudes have changed during the recession—and may stay changed. They say it’s becoming the “era of consequences,” in which consumers will pay much more attention to the long-term value of what they’re buying, as well as its long-term environmental and social consequences. Read more…

  • Miss Management: Too thick to plow, too stubborn for salt

    January 12, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    What makes an ideal employee? Desired traits seem to fall into four general categories: competencies/skills, values, attitude and potential (which might be where that undervalued trait of creativity falls). Read more…

  • ForeThought: Underwear is just the beginning

    January 1, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom
    Amusing as it is to read Doonesbury’s take on Twittering (Garry Trudeaux for Roland Hedley, senior Twitter correspondent: “How bad is U.K. economy? My tailor is personally picking me up at Heathrow. Will post twitpix of swatches en route hotel for your input”) or the article in today’s StarTribune about a San Francisco PR professional whose Twitter account was recently hijacked, sending messages about Victoria’s Secret gift cards to everyone in his address book (“I thought, ‘How long have I been Twittering about underwear?’”), it seems clear that social media marketing is the Current Thing for businesses. Read more…

  • Miss Management: It’s not cheating if you win

    December 14, 2009 | Galynn Nordstrom
    Two day-long training sessions I remember with particular fondness. One was focused on strategic decision-making, and broke us into teams of administrative staff, creative staff and management as they sketched that morning’s scenario: a plane crash in the desert, a list of resources and supplies, and an assignment to do what we needed to do, with what we had, to survive. Read more…

  • ForeThought: Changing the universe to fit the equation

    December 2, 2009 | Galynn Nordstrom
    Yesterday, IFAI brought in their financial consultant to talk about 401(k) investing and the new Roth 401(k) option now available to us. He was an energetic and enthusiastic speaker, and presented the information clearly and concisely, but there was one point he made that clearly resonated with our gimlet-eyed and inquisitive staff members. He talked about how those people who had kept investing money in their retirement plans even as the economy soured and (we hope) bottomed out are now starting to reap the rewards as the market recovers. Read more…

  • Miss Management: Your enjoyment is anticipated, and will be enforced (part 2)

    November 23, 2009 | Galynn Nordstrom
    This afternoon I received a press release from The Wagner Companies in Butler, Wisc., announcing the availability of their latest product: “Festivus in a Box™,” inspired by a December 1997 episode of “Seinfeld” in which the character Frank Costanza invented the Festivus holiday for “the rest of us.” Read more…